We’re driving on Africa’s highest all-weather road on the Sanetti Plateau when we spot it: an Ethiopian wolf, arguably the world’s rarest, most endangered canid. We stop and have a good luck for a few minutes from about 50 feet away at this beautiful creature that looks somewhat like a Canadian fox. All too soon, it ambles off, leaving us delighted with this sighting and looking forward to returning to the plateau in a few days with a guide.

We’re on an independent 24-day visit to Ethiopia, some of it with a rented vehicle and driver, which we’ve decided isn’t long enough to see everything of interest. So my traveling companion – an Alberta wildlife biologist – and myself decide to pass on the popular northern part of the country that most tourists visit and concentrate on central and southern Ethiopia.

The highlight of the trip is the delightful Bale Mountain Lodge, which we check into midway through our journey after our first spotting of the wolf. The environmentally-friendly lodge is an absolute treat as we’d been staying in much more modest lodgings. Host Yvonne Levene welcomes us and we set up our schedule of guided walks and drives. The gorgeous mountain setting features delights such as olive baboons frolicking in the meadow beyond the breakfast veranda. […] READ MORE